Sewing machine needle guiding means



Oct. 22, 1963 s. BASILE SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE GUIDING MEANS Filed Nov.7. 1961 INVENT OR Gmo Boslle PRIOR ART PRIOR AR United States Patent3,107,639 SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE GUIDING MEANS Gino Basile, New York,N.Y., assignor to Glamorise Foundations, Inc., New York, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed Nov. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 150,825 2 Claims.(Cl. 112-227) This invention relates to new and useful improvements insewing machines, and in particular the invention con cerns itself withan improved sewing machine needle and feed dog. Although the teachingsof the invention are applicable to sewing machines in general, theinvention is particularly useful in machines for sewing zig-zag stitching wherein in addition to its usual reciprocating movement the needleis also translated laterally. Such lateral translation produces aconsiderable amount of vibration in the needle and when the sewing hookof the machine approaches the needle to pick up a loop of thread, thevibrating needle often hits the hook and is broken thereby. If the hookis moved further away to avoid being hit by the needle, skip-stitchingresults if the hook misses the loop, or breaking of thread occurs if thehook hits the thread. Consequently, when repairing or setting sewingmachines equipped with conventional needles, the needle movement must bevery carefully timed and the length of its throw carefully set, takinginto consideration the nature of the material to be sewed. Suchadjustment is a tedius procedure and if it is not accurately made, theresultant thread breaking, skip-stitching and needle bending or breakingnot only greatly slows down production but also results in productimperfections and rejects.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the invention to eliminate thedisadvantages above outlined and to facilitate quick, convenient andeasy setting of the machine Without concern about the length of needlethrow or nature of material to be sewed. This object is attained by theprovision of an improved needle together with an improved feed dog, thedog being equipped with means for guiding the needle and substantiallyminimizing the vibration thereof, while the needle itself is providedwith a long flat spot for clearance of the sewing hook. As a result,hitting of the hook by the needle is eliminated and the guide means ofthe feed dog also serve to form a large, properly oriented thread loopwhich is easily caught by the sewing hook, so that the hook may be setfurther away from the needle without possible skip-stitching or threadbreaking.

With the foregoing more important objects and features in view and suchother objects and features as may become apparent as this specificationproceeds, the invention will be understood from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whereinlike characters of reference are used to designate like parts, andwherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the lower endportion of a conventional needle for purposes of comparison with theimproved needle shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevational View of the conventional needle,viewed from the right-hand side of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the lower endportion of the improved needle;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the improved needle,viewed from the right-hand side of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional detail, taken substantially in the pine ofthe line 5-5 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional detail, taken substantially in the planeof the line 66 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional detail, taken substantially in the planeof the line 77 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the improved feed dog;

FIGURE 9 is a horizontal sectional view of the feed dog, takensubstantially in the plane of the line 99 in FIGURE 8 and also showingthe sewing hook in relation to the feed dog; and

FIGURE 10 is a vertical sectional view of the feed dog, takensubstantially in the plane of the line 10-10 in FIGURE 8 and alsoshowing in elevation the sewing hook.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, FIGURES 1 and 2illustrate a conventional sewing machine needle having a slendercylindrical body 15 with a tapered lower end portion 15a terminating ina point 16. The body 15 is provided with an eye 17 opening into a groove13 which extends longitudinally in one side of the needle body. At therelatively opposite side of the needle body the eye 17 opens into agroove or channel 19 which extends from the tapered portion 15a upwardlypast the eye and into a concave spot 20. As will be observed, the spot20, which is oval shaped in elevation, is located entirely above the eye17 and is substantially as long in the vertical dimension as the eyeitself.

By comparison, the improved needle in accordance with the invention andshown in detail in FIGURES 3-7 is provided, in place of the conventionalconcave spot 20, with a relatively long flat spot 21 having curved upperand lower surface portions 210 and 215, respectively. It it to be notedthat while the flat spot 21 itself is disposed above the needle eye 17,the curved lower surface portion 21b of the fiat spot extends downwardlyover the eye and terminates substantially at the level of the lower endof the eye, as illustrated. The improved needle as a whole is designatedgenerally by the numeral 14 in FIGURE 10 which also shows the improvedfeed dog and the sewing hook, hereinafter again referred to.

The improved feed dog shown in FIGURES 8-10 and designated generally bythe numeral 25 is conventional in all respects except for the provisionof needle guide means which consist of a groove or channel 26 of asubstantially semi-circular cross-section. The groove or channel 26extends vertically in one side of the feed dog body 27, in alignmentwith a needle receiving aperture 28 formed in the usual, toothed topportion 29 of the dog. The dog body 27 may either be thick enough tofacilitate formation of the groove 26 in the side thereof, or it may bebuilt-up for that purpose, it being understood that in conventional feeddogs the body 27 is relatively thin or sometimes even recessed so thatthe needle when passed downwardly through the aperture 28 is actuallyspaced from the adjacent side of the body 27 by a substantial clearance.

It may be noted at this point that FIGURES 810 show the feed dog for usewith two, spaced parallel needles operating jointly at opposite sides ofthe body 27, in which event the needle guiding grooves 26 are providedat both sides of the body 27 as shown. However, the teachings of theinvention are equally applicable to a feed dog used with only oneneedle, as will be readily understood.

FIGURES 9 and 10 illustrate the needle 14 and feed dog 25 in relation tothe conventional sewing hook 30 of the machine. The hook itself forms nopart of the present invention and its conventional structure need not bedescribed in detail, apart from noting that the hook accommodates athread bobbin 31 and is rotated by a shaft 32 so that its hook member 33may pick up a loop of thread on the needle 14 each time the hook member33 passes by the needle when the latter is moved downwardly through theaperture 28 of the feed dog 25. Conventional 3 means (not shown) areprovided for adjusting the hook 363 laterally toward and away from theneedle.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, vibration of the needle,particularly in zig-zag type sewing machines, will be materiallyminimized when the needle passes downwardly through the aperture 28 andenters the guide channel or groove 26. In itself, this minimization ofvibration by the guiding action of the needle will operate towardpreventing the needle from hitting the hook member 33. However, thebeneficial aspects of the invention are even more comprehensive. As theneedle moves downwardly in the guide channel 26, the thread passingthrough the eye of the needle will not be able to loop between theneedle and the adjacent dog body 27, but rather, the thread loopformation will take place at the outer side of the needle, that is, onthe side adjacent the sewing hook Bil, where a loop of a substantialsize will be formed and properly oriented toward the hook member 33 sothat it may be easily picked up by the hook member during its passagepast the needle. As a result, the sewing hook 3t) may be set furtheraway from the needle without skip-stitching or thread breakage and suchfurther setting of the sewing hook will also assist in eliminatinghitting of the hook by the needle, even under its materially reducedvibration as already explained.

As to the needle itself, the provision of the long flat spot 21, 21a,21b affords a much greater clearance for the movement of the hook member33 past the needle than the conventional oval spot 20, and the length ofthrow or stroke of the needle may be easily set as required for anygiven type of material to be sewed, without concern for sufficientclearance for the hook member inasmuch as the flat spot 21 is longenough to provide clearance for the hook regardless of the setting ofthe needle throw.

While in the foregoing there has been described and shown the preferredembodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparentto those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly,it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure and variousmodifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within thespirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a sewing machine, the combination of a feed dog having a lowerportion with a side surface and an upper portion projecting laterallybeyond said side surface, said upper portion being provided'with avertical aperture the diameter of which is intersected by the plane ofsaid side surface of the lower portion, said lower portion beingprovided in said side surface with a vertical groove of a substantiallysemi-circular cross-section, said groove being in register with andconstituting a downward continuation of a substantially semi-circularedge portion of said aperture with the radii of said groove and of saidaperture being substantially equal, and a reciprocable needle receivablein said groove through said aperture,

the diameter of said needle relative to the radius of said groove beingsuch that the lower portion of the feed dog defining said grooveguidingly engages one side of the needle to prevent the latter fromvibrating.

2. A sewing machine feed dog having a lower portion with a side surfaceand an upper portion projecting laterally beyond said side surface, saidupper portion being provided with a vertical needle receiving aperturethe diameter of which is intersected by the plane of said side surfaceof the lower portion, said lower portion being provided in said sidesurface with a vertical needle receiving and guiding groove of asubstantially semicircular cross-section, said groove being in registerwith and constituting a downward continuation of a substantiallysemi-circular edge portion of said aperture with the radii of saidgroove and of said aperture being substantially equal.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,263,088 McNeil Apr. 16, 1918 1,388,943 Gatchell Aug. 30, 19211,738,644 Gatchell Dec. 10, 1929 1,949,349 Brown Feb. 27, 1934 1,999,251Moranville Apr. 30, 1935 2,712,802 Cottrell July 12, 1955 2,824,533Goosman Feb. 25, 1958

1. IN A SEWING MACHINE, THE COMBINATION OF A FEED DOG HAVING A LOWERPORTION WITH A SIDE SURFACE AND AN UPPER PORTION PROJECTING LATERALLYBEYOND SAID SIDE SURFACE, SAID UPPER PORTION BEING PROVIDED WITH AVERTICAL APERTURE THE DIAMETER OF WHICH IS INTERSECTED BY THE PLANE OFSAID SIDE SURFACE OF THE LOWER PORTION, SAID LOWER PORTION BEINGPROVIDED IN SAID SIDE SURFACE WITH A VERTICAL GROOVE OF A SUBSTANTIALLYSEMI-CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION, SAID GROOVE BEING IN REGISTER WITH ANDCONSTITUTING A DOWNWARD CONTINUATION OF A SUBSTANTIALLY SEMI-CIRCULAREDGE PORTION OF SAID APERTURE WITH THE RADII OF SAID GROOVE AND OF SAIDAPERTURE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL, AND A RECIPROCABLE NEEDLE RECEIVABLEIN SAID GROOVE THROUGH SAID APERTURE, THE DIAMETER OF SAID NEEDLERELATIVE TO THE RADIUS OF SAID GROOVE BEING SUCH THAT THE LOWER PORTIONOF THE FEED DOG DEFINING SAID GROOVE GUIDINGLY ENGAGES ONE SIDE OF THENEEDLE TO PREVENT THE LATTER FROM VIBRATING.